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M3 Lee
The Medium M3 Tank was an American medium tank, it had different names depending on their turret pattern; American patterns were called M3 Lee in honor of Confederate General''' Robert E. Lee', while British patterns were called' M3 Grant''' in honor of Union General and 18th President of the U.S. Ulysses S. Grant. A bit of history The Medium M3 Tank was a tank whose design began in 1940. The production of this tank was caused by the perceived need of the U.S. Armt for a tank armed with a 75 mm gun, as existing M2 Tanks had an obsolete 37 mm gun, and the development of a model with a 75-mm gun in a rotating turret would have forced an intolerable delay. The Medium M3s were quickly mass-produced, and many were supplied to the United Kingdom, as its army urgently needed tanks to face the German Wehrmacht; their design was odd-looking, with a huge, tall silhouette imposed by its Wright (Continental) R975 EC2 air-cooled engine, a reliable derivative from an aeronautic model. They sported a hull mounted 75mm gun, a 37mm gun in a small rotating turret and a machine-gun mounted on the turret. They first saw action on North Africa, becoming a nasty surprise for the Axis forces. Thanks to their 75 mm gun, it performed well against Panzer IIIs, Panzer IVs (with the short gun) and Fiat M13/40, and was well-liked by its solid performance and overall reliability, although the limited main gun traverse and the large silhouette were serious tactical disadvantages that could be taken advantage of by a learned enemy. But not until 1942, with the finished design and mass produce of M4 Sherman, and the appearance of new and improved German tanks, the M3 Lee began to be withdrawn from frontline duties. The tank was declared obsolete in 1944. The M3 Lee was supplied also to the URSS, where however it proved unpopular for its above-mentioned flaws, even more serious against a better equipped enemy (which led to Soviet crews to gave it the nickname "coffin for seven brothers"). On other fronts, like the Pacific, with limited enemy tank activity, it continued to serve successfully for the remainder of the war. One important variant was the M7 Priest with a 105mm howitzer, which gave unparalleled artillery support during the Second World War and served different countries after the war. Other info An M3 Lee '''(as it is always called on-screen, although it actually seems to be a British-patterned '''Grant) is driven by the Rabbit Team, and was painted pink before the training match agains St. Gloriana Girls High School; afterwards, it was returned to its standard paint scheme. This tank, being hampered by its drawbacks, and having a decidedly inexperienced crew, got off to a rough start from the beginning. During the match against St. Gloriana Girls High School, it was taken down after being abandoned. Against Saunders Girls High School it was the initial target of Saunders' attack and was taken out by their Sherman Firefly. Against Anzio, in the manga it was the first victim of Anchovy's Carro Armato P40. In the match against Pravda it managed to survive until taken out by their IS-2, while covering Ooarai's flag tank. Only against Kuromorimine Girls High School did this tank really shine; taking advantage of their opponents' reduced maneuverability, it took out the enemy Elefant with a rear shot, and then managed to cause the defeat of the massive Jagdtiger, while being thrown out of the battle themselves. Tank basic characteristics *'Armament' #'Main gun : 75mm Gun M2 hull-mounted #Other ##37mm Gun M3A1 turret-mounted ##.30 cal Browning M1919 MG *'Hull armor / Turret armor #Front : 51mm / 51 mm #Sides : 38mm / 50mm #Rear : 38mm / 50mm *'Speed ': 42 km/h on road More info about the M3 Medium *M3 Lee *M3 Specifications Category:Tanks